PERFORATION OF THE RECTUM. 
423 
thickening of the submucous coat. Our veterinary writers have 
not done justice to this intervening cellular substance, or tissue. 
The author of “The Horse” stands among the worst of them, for 
he has not mentioned it: but, there it is, plainly enough, belonging 
neither to the mucous nor the muscular coat, but interposed between 
them ; connected with both, and forming the medium of communi- 
cation and union between the two. 
It is liable to diseases peculiar to itself, or in which the other 
coats only partially share. Among them is the disease, which my 
old pupil, Mr. Wheatley, so accurately, although unknowingly, de- 
scribes. There is thickening — hypertrophy — of this cellular tex- 
ture, or submucous membrane, shewing itself either under the form 
of mere increase of substance, with more, or less, or no inflamma- 
tion of the mucous coat, and the muscular coat being more or less 
affected; or the thickening takes place in distinct spots, and then 
there are isolated enlargements, or 'granulations as Mr. Wheatley 
very graphically calls them. 
The peculiarity in this case, that these granulations became 
ossified, no writer, that we are aware of, describes : but it is well 
known that they occasionally become scirrhous, and there is but 
a step between this and the deposition of ossific matter. 
Suppose a portion of this submucous membrane to have become 
hypertrophied, or scirrhous — what is its frequent progress 1 The 
thickening and the induration proceed to a certain extent, and then 
a contrary action takes place. The diseased part softens, suppu- 
rates, ulcerates, and hence the too frequent perforations of the 
intestinal tube, for the suppurative process spreads to the muscular 
coat without, and the mucous one within, and ulceration appears 
in the intestinal tube ; or in some moment of pressure the peritoneal 
tunic gives way, and a fatal communication is effected between 
the interior of the intestine and the cavity of the abdomen : so we 
apprehend it was here. In some portions, the inflammation of the 
submucous coat had gone on to ossification. In other places, the 
induration had been succeeded by suppuration, and the wall of the 
intestine had been weakened, until in some unusual action of the 
peculiarly strong fibres of the rectum — strong, in order powerfully to 
assist in the expulsion of the faeces — the gut, pressed on by the faeces 
within, gives way. The physic might have caused the muscles of 
the rectum to act more powerfully than usual on the contents of 
the intestine. Its parietes, weakened in the manner that has been 
described, are burst asunder, and death ensues. 
Not the slightest blame can be attached to Mr. Wheatley. At 
the worst, the life of the animal was shortened some few days. — Y.] 
